Oral Toxicity of Indium in Rats：Single and 28-Day Repeated Administration Studies

• Published in: Journal of Occupational Health Vol. 50; no. 6; pp. 471 - 479
• Main Authors: Asakura, Keiko, Satoh, Hiroshi, Chiba, Momoko, Okamoto, Masahide, Serizawa, Koji, Nakano, Makiko, Omae, Kazuyuki
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Japanese; English
• Published: Australia JAPAN SOCIETY FOR OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH 2008
• Subjects: Administration, Oral; Adrenal Glands - drug effects; Adrenal Glands - pathology; Animals; Blood Chemical Analysis; Dental Materials; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Eating - drug effects; Electrical Equipment and Supplies; Female; Heart - drug effects; Hematologic Tests; Indium; Indium - administration & dosage; Indium - toxicity; Inflammation - chemically induced; Kidney - drug effects; Kidney - pathology; Liver - drug effects; Liver - pathology; Lung - drug effects; Lung - pathology; Male; Models, Animal; Myocardium - pathology; No-Observed-Adverse-Effect Level; Observation; Oral toxicity; Organ Size - drug effects; Rat; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley
• ISSN: 1341-9145; 1348-9585; 1348-9585
• DOI: 10.1539/joh.l8070

Indium is widely used in the electronics industry to make semiconductors, liquidcrystal panels, and plasma display panels, and its production is increasing. However, it is necessary to handle it more cautiously than before, because the pulmonary toxicity of inhaled indium has been identified. The present study aimed to characterize the potential toxic effects of indium through oral administration and observation for fourteen days following a single dose of 0 or 2,000 mg/kg(acute oral toxicity study), and repeated oral administration for 28 days at dose levels of 0, 40, 200, or 1,000 mg/kg daily(28-day repeated oral dose toxicity study)to male and female Crj：CD(SD)IGS rats(SPF). No deaths and no abnormalities in clinical signs, body weights, and necropsy findings were observed for any of the animals in the acute oral toxicity study. Furthermore, no changes related to indium were also observed in the dose groups up to 1,000 mg/kg of the 28-day repeated oral dose toxicity study. From the results described above, the lethal dose 50%(LD50)of indium is greater than 2,000 mg/kg under these study conditions, and the noobservedadverseeffect-level(NOAEL)is considered to be 1,000 mg/kg for males and females under these conditions.